Broken Tethers
by XxMeWxX4444
Summary: Who knew that restricting yourself to one solid religion was the only way to avoid asshole gods and an adventure in another dimension? Not me, obviously. [FMA:B Universe]
1. Chapter 1

I blame my religion for everything that's happened.

That may be odd statement, and you may be spouting blasphemy for me badmouthing my God(s), but I'm not. I am (was? Still am?) agnostic. I didn't believe in anything, nor did I _dis_ believe it and that's precisely the problem. From what I've theorized (read: assumed because there's no other reason I ended up here) that when you haven't chained yourself to anyone one religion, your eternal soul is essentially free. There's no Hell or Heaven, no Tartarus, no Nirvana - there simply _isn't_. Thus, your soul has free reign. It's what allows spirits to stay glued to the mortal plane, giving evidence to ghosts and (if your soul is tainted enough) demons or poltergeists. When I died, horrifically might I add, I became a ghost. It was pretty morbid, and very depressing, seeing as I was tied to my body for several weeks until the… mortal chain (Tether?) eroded. I got to experience my funeral, and hated the entire thing. The music sucked, my brother-in-law and father almost strangled each other, and my sister and friends were an inconsolable mess. The only beneficial part of the experience was that it disapproved any earthly worries that no one would miss me when I was gone.

After the funeral was about two weeks of aggravatingly boring cemetery stalking (though I did get to spook any visitors, so that was cool) before my tether finally broke. When it broke, my soul was free. At the time, I didn't know that it meant I'd be free for any deity that decided their 'realm' was boring. I just saw it as a way for me to move on and answer those annoying calls my friend made on her Ouija board. Thus, when I sensed that the chain had finally snapped - thank Arceus - I was floating away as quickly as possible.

That's where I encountered another... _issue_. I had encountered my fair share of other ghosts - this _was_ a cemetery, after all - and even saw a demon in passing. The only thing to say about _that_ , was that my previous fear of anything occult was well justified. I shouldn't even say previous, this was some spooky shit.

What was spookier was the _thing_ standing in front of me, pure white and rimmed with an eerie black light. No features discernible, other than a manic tooth-filled grin and the vague body shape of a human female.

"Uh...are you another demon?" Stupid question. If it was, he (it?) would surely eat you for your impudence, dumbass.

It seemed impossible, but the thing's grin only widened. "No, I'm what you would call God. Or perhaps the world. The universe, truth, even _you_. Not the first one for you, obviously, seeing as how you're lingering between realms in the first place."

This spiel was ringing a familiar note in my head, but seeing as how my thought processes were bypassed by terror, it wasn't hard to guess why I couldn't remember. Taking a discreet (obvious) step back, I eyed the creature once more. I wasn't too skeptical about his claims, seeing as I was already a damned _ghost_.

"A God? What would a god want with _me_?"

"Entertainment. My realms are growing stagnant and I've grown bored." Truth - because I sure as hell wasn't calling him any of his other titles - was happy to provide.

Insert disbelieving gape from yours truly, before yet another dumb question slipped past my lips. "...what kind of god _are_ you?"

"An all powerful one, and since your tether just snapped, your soul is free to be taken. Do something interesting for me." With that final demand, there was an ominous presence suddenly at my back. Turning hesitantly, I stared up in disbelief at two hovering, gigantic doors. They opened before I could emit a single squeak, black tendrils ( _hands?!_ ) seeping out and wrapping ( _strangling_ ) my body as they reeled me in.

I let out a piercing shriek, every instinct in my body telling me to _run, run, run_ but I couldn't _escape_. My last sight of my home world was of Truth's unbearable grin, black-rimmed hand raised in a sarcastic wave.

Then the doors slammed shut, blackness taking it's place and then... _ **pain**_.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Well. Hello, all. Here's me drifting into another fandom, one that I'm about the same level of knowledge on as with Blue Exorcist. Though, to be fair, I _have_ seen Brotherhood multiple times. I just haven't spent as much in depth research time in it as I have Naruto or Harry Potter. Hopefully that'll actually be a prompt for my procrastination to take a hike.

Who knows? We'll see. As it stands, I'm looking up any Alchemic information I can find, theorizing what type of Alchemist I want her to be. This is a Self Insert OC type of story, so if you find the character acting stupid, know that it's most likely what I - as a 19 year old lazy hermit - would do. Expect some demolition.

Opinions, please? Also what race do you think she'll be? Amestrian? Ishvalan? Drachman? Hell, maybe Xingan and I'll turn this into a LingOC fic, because _damn_ he's fine.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Tell me what you think.

 _Mew_

P.S. I know it's short, forgive me.


	2. Chapter 2

I wasn't ignorant of pain. I had even experienced my own fair share of it throughout my life. However, there was a startling difference between pain caused by a tumor and pain caused by _knowledge_. It wouldn't appear like the latter would be the more torturous between the two (especially given the month full of pain and surgery), but I can personally assure you it was.

The throbbing, molten feeling of my brain being overwhelmed, memories appearing where they never were before and the pure _understanding_ of the world around me. The only blessing of the knowledge was that the Gate closed too soon. Alchemy was just brushing into my grey matter, showing me _how_ and _what_ made arrays what they were, when the doors started to close. There were laws to this realm - equivalent exchange - but there was also choice. I didn't _choose_ this realm, so the Gate paid me with knowledge. In this way, a debt was settled. My unwilling soul in exchange for the understanding of this new world.

It didn't mean I was satisfied - let alone _happy_ \- but the new knowledge made me understand, at least.

Then my consciousness was gone, everything was _**black**_ , and I was lost in the void.

* * *

To be perfectly clear, the lapse in my senses was understandable, given the extenuating circumstances. I had just been a fucking _ghost_ , before my mortal tether had eroded, my unbound soul was claimed by an asshole of a god, and I was dragged into an unimaginable hell.

Therefore, it was a long while before my consciousness surfaced between the bouts of ' _pain, pain, pain'_ and ' _what the fuck is this shit, what kind of world is this?!'_. It was hazy at best, but slowly my surroundings were becoming clearer and clearer, though it felt like I was still half-blind. I was surrounded by wooden poles all around me, staring up at a darkened ceiling and the air was still. There wasn't any sound that I could decipher other than distant crickets and faint barking. Overall, it was very peaceful - if I ignored the fact that I had no idea what the _fuck_ was going on.

Lifting up a hand (because I had never quite broken the nervous habit of nail biting) only led me to my first conclusion. My hand was tiny. Chubby, small, and far from the dexterous hand I knew. I didn't even have the triangle-shaped mole on my left hand anymore.

I stared in incomprehension for a few moments before taking another careful look at my surroundings. Now that my mind was a _bit_ clearer, those wooden poles looked like...wait. Was I in a motherfucking _crib_?! Why was it so huge? Why was I so _tiny_?

Silent panic consumed me for a moment before the second conclusion came to mind. My soul had been reborn. I was a _baby_. What the _fuck_?

Apparently my infantile instincts took over at that moment, because suddenly my ears were ringing and my throat was aching from the caterwauling that soon ensued. Judging by the distant grumbles and a faint thump, my screams were _not_ appreciated by my new parent. Maybe parent _s_? Who knew. Considering I was in the middle of _freaking the fuck out_ , it was a miracle that I even acknowledged the faint sounds.

It was then that my bleary vision was entirely cut off, the overhead light sending my pupils into a frenzy and making a headache thump along the back of my skull. At least a shadow soon covered me, revealing a bleary, slowly-coming-into-focus scruffy face. Ceasing my screaming immediately, my eyes rapidly traveled across his features, noting absently that he was decently attractive. Messy pitch black hair and striking blue eyes complimented a sharp bone structure, and the warm smile that appeared was endearing. As he reached down to lift my teensy, tiny body it occurred to me that this was most likely my new father, and it only cemented the fact that I had been _reborn_.

Before I could do much else the man took a seat in a nearby rocking chair, and it was with considerable surprise that I found myself being consumed by sleep. The headache from the light and my own screaming had only increased in pressure, and it was with a faint acknowledgment that I realized my newborn brain probably wasn't suited to a young adult's thought process. Letting out a resigned sigh, I allowed the darkness to overcome me, resolved to rise above my body's infant instincts in an effort to learn about the world around me.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

So I've basically constructed the array that I plan to use, and I know that yet again this is extremely short. Maybe this will be the norm and I'll just counter that with multiple chapters? I don't know. I'm trying to beat off my procrastination the best I can, so we'll see how it goes.

If anyone ever wants to chat, PM me and I'll tell you my tumblr (which is my third one and entirely anime - with a smidgen of HP - based. My second one is exclusively 5SOS while the first is a random mix of shit) so that you can message me easier. I'd just write it out right here, but my friends are dicks and I'd rather they _not_ know about that blog.

'Til next time,

 _Mew_


	3. Chapter 3

I was right in my earlier conclusion. The man that had appeared over my crib (read: _cage_ ) had been my father, and he was _great_. He was attentive but laid back, careful but playful, intelligent but immature - and he was the best parent I had ever imagined. He _loved_ me, his precious little daughter, and it was obvious to anyone who cared to pay attention for more than a few minutes.

That didn't mean that he _showed_ people - no, it was fairly obvious that he was reclusive individual. He didn't like going out in public with me, he was far too wary of me being hurt or taken, and it was fairly obvious from the few fights with my mother that this viewpoint was _not_ shared. The woman was too trusting of humankind, too social, too envious of her multiple friend's husbands showing them off at the latest social event while my father was misanthropic at best - he much preferred staying home and avoiding his fellow man at all costs. It was a mystery why they had married.

To be completely honest, I shared his views. Humans had always been a distasteful species to me - we were an arrogant and greedy species, with little care for the world around us.

Just because _I_ understood though, didn't mean my mother did. I use that term loosely, considering the woman barely even interacted with me. It was odd, the switch in social norms. Then again, I had been raised by a single father with a drunken mother in my first life, so this wasn't _too_ foreign (even if my father was _far_ more awesome in this life). Despite this, it was my father who fed me, bathed me, read to me - everything that a doting parent _should_ be doing. My mother rarely changed my diapers and would finally approach with a bottle after my infant body screamed for minutes on end whenever my father wasn't home. All of this would've caused me extreme embarrassment (I couldn't even wipe my own ass) were it not for the infant instincts fighting so hard to overcome my adult pride. It allowed me to sink into oblivion at least, leaving awareness while my parents completed such actions for me. At least I could be thankful for the bottle feeding, seeing as I could avoid that woman's breasts at all costs.

As time moved on it only became more and more obvious the differences between my father and my bitch of a mother. Apparently I was an unwanted burden, and she had only married my father for his money and military affiliation. Considering the scream that emitted from my throat, not even my infant side liked the insult to our 'papa' and the building block in my chubby hand was soon aimed at the woman's head. It fell flat, of course, but my rage was noted. Her next suggestion of 'maybe we should give her to the orphanage, we barely spend any time together any more' only caused papa to echo my own anger.

The blank visage of papa's normally gentle face was the first clue. The deadpan demand for her to 'leave and never come back' was the next. The next few minutes of him strapping the baby carrier on his torso and depositing me in it before _leaving the house_ was the third and final clue. Papa was serious. He wanted mother to leave. He threw the parting comment of 'I'm going to file the divorce papers' before slamming the front door shut.

The next few hours were filled with him doing just as he claimed, swiftly heading towards a law office that he was apparently a client of. While the papers were being filed papa brought me to a small cafe, one that he apparently frequented given his familiarity with the waiter, and I had my first taste of solid food in over five months. I barely focused on the cooing adults that worked within the establishment, absently noting that papa evidently _did_ have some form of friends. Acquaintances, more like, but they spoke to him like an equal and politely enquired about his work, life, or me. It was good, and I could feel papa slowly relax from his rigid anger towards mother.

My focus, though, was on the paper laid out on our table. Papa had gotten it before stepping into the cafe and unlike when I was trapped within my bouncer far away from the dining table, I could now make out the print.

 _The Amestrian Times? What kind of name...wait. Amestrian? That's familiar. Why is that familiar. Come on, think, think, you_ know _this._ I stared down at the confusing letters before realization struck: this wasn't English. The Gate had provided me with knowledge, but I had never practiced the languages that had been stuck inside my brain. Laying out before me was obviously the Amestrian language - an odd, modernized version of Xerxes' own alphabet. Why I knew what the two languages were called, I blame that damned god. They were still ringing familiar bells in my mind though, and it was with frustration that I recognized the familiar feeling of exhaustion that was causing my sought after answers to float further and further away.

 _Damn this infant body._ Was my last conscious thought, my head heavily falling back against papa's chest.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

I don't know how well written this is, considering I just wrote chapter two and three back to back. Usually I leave them for a few weeks as I continue on in the chapters that way I'm easily able to make changes where I wish. However, this time I've decided to post them immediately in an effort to get feedback that will cause my damned procrastination to go the fuck away. Hopefully it'll work.

Tell me if you like it.

 _Mew_


End file.
